Our styled shoot for The Wedding Scoop: Love letters from a beloved

'Love Letters from a Beloved' takes a reflective and introspective look into the emotion of love, told through a collage of words & beauty. The storyline is inspired by a collection of quotes from classic poems by Leo Tolstoy as well as modern-day writers like Tyler Knott Gregson. The visual theme is inspired by the true modern bride - exuding an effortless elegance and intimate sensuality. Her makeup is soft and subtle; her hair is loose and flowing. Exquisite lace and textured details of her gowns are contrasted with fresh nails and bare feet. Floral arrangements are wild and free.

Equally effortless is the style of hand-lettering I've chosen - an organic freehand script written in brush, with a slightly unpredictable rhythm. Watercolour patterns were created through a careful mixture of digital and traditional mediums, complementing each photograph to form a compelling visual story.

Through 'Love Letters from a Beloved', we hope to bring back the beauty of studio wedding photography. Sometimes, less is more and there is beauty in simplicity."

And, a sneak peek behind the scenes for original concept boards we were toying with before finally deciding on marrying everyone's favourite parts (pun intended!)...

x,

jien

Word jewellery with Carrie K.: BREATHE & WONDER

Our collaboration with artisanal jeweller Carrie K can now be found in Tangs, Carrie K's atelier, and Keepers:

Tales of the City Issue #1: SiPei for Warehouse Spring/Summer 2015 Collection

"Throwing on a bold printed blazer adds an unexpected edge to my otherwise feminine look" - SiPei

"I love how the culottes give my silhoette an instant tailored look. It's a perfect wardrobe staple." - SiPei

Wardrobe from Warehouse 

Modelled with Andrea Chong

Photography by Amanda Wong

Hair Styling by Blow + Bar

Make-up by Benefit Cosmetics

View the online magazine here.

Hairloom Glam Girl Workshop

Hey there beauties!

Hair styled by Reno from Hairloom

Make-up by Larry Yeo

Black Sparkly Jumpsuit from Warehouse

Metallic Pouch from Warehouse

Necklace from Club Monaco

Lace-up Snakeskin Heels from Zara

The look you see above is the end result of last Friday's hair and make-up workshop by Hairloom x Glam Palm.

That black jumpsuit is from Warehouse, which I very deliberately wore as I was curious to see how different hair & makeup could change a versatile monochromatic look from day to night.

True enough, with celeb make-up artist Larry Yeo and Hairloom stylist Reno Tan's stroke of genius, my entire look was dressed up and then down in a matter of two hours.

Larry used only YSL make-up products

Talking about make-up, it was like an 'aha!' moment for me when Larry touched on the topic of bold lips: I never believed I could pull off bold lippies because I always felt it drew extra attention to my lips but Larry totally changed that when he demonstrated how to achieve a chic yet glam look by pairing a minimal eye look with a YSL pink lip. Hooray for me!

When it came to hairstyles, Reno was totally in sync with Larry in the way he did a show-and-tell on how to use the Glam Palm to create different hairdos - both casual and formal. Each time, Reno's hairstyles would complement Larry's makevers (and vice versa), showing us how to dress up or down any outfit you have on.

Reno used only Redken products

TADAAA! Ready for a night out!

As an aside, I've never used a styling iron before.  (Well, except for the one time I tried and ended up burning the side of my ear. Needless to say, that completely put me off holding anything hot near my head.) So when Reno first introduced Glam Palm, I have to admit I was skeptical and hesitant. But I think I'm a convert now as it's great the way Glam Palm lets you straighten or curl your hair whichever way you want - and really effortlessly. No burnt ears so far so that's a great sign. Plus it heats up in less than 5 minutes which is great when you're running late - which I assume is quite frequently anyway.

I now have a Glam Palm myself and have also managed to convince 3 of my friends to buy one each so there you go, take my word for it! :)

Of course, I hope the 16 of you who received exclusive invites to this Hairloom show-and-tell enjoyed yourselves thoroughly and made use of Larry & Reno's expertise to gather the beauty tips you've always wanted to gather.

Notice Grace's (left) and Stephanie's (right) hair...

Spot the difference? That's the magic of the Glam Palm ;)

Group photo with the Hairloom team <3

And as for me, the biggest hair & makeup tips to incorporate into my own beauty regime are...

#01. Always pair a bold lip with a natural eye look.

#02. Heat protecting products are a must before styling your hair. I now use Redken's Heat Protectant Spray.

#03. Don't let lipstick samples go to waste next time! Try layering a few lipstick colours together and you might be pleasantly surprised (I recently tried layering a purple lipstick sample with red and pink lipstick shades and ended up loving the end result!)

Good luck with bold lips and Glam Palm-ing your hair, ladies! 

A big thank you to all sponsors Hairloom, Glam Palm, YSL, Redken, F3 Singapore/Warehouse and Female Magazine.

 Photos by Hairloom and Ace Chia

xx

sipei

Collaboration #7: Ash is the new black // Hairloom x SiPei

My hair has been pretty much the same all my life (i.e long & mulan-black) so when Hairloom - Singapore's leading creative Hair Salon with clients such as local artistes Rui En, Oon Shu An and Joanne Peh - offered to give me a "hair transformation", I really couldn't decline! I had been thinking about it for the longest time but never really had the guts to do so… I decided that it was about time; took that “leap of faith” and fixed an appointment with Hairloom.

Hairloom is located at a very unexpected, tranquil space in Shaw Towers. Dotted with quirky art pieces, it's clear that Hairloom appreciates creativity. 

I was introduced to my hair stylist Reno Tan. He seemed quite shy at first but gradually opened up as we talked about Hairloom and “in” hairstyles at the moment. For my “hair transformation”, Reno recommended that I should 1) snip a few inches of my hair off (have a hair length slightly below my shoulders) 2) dye my hair jet black OR a cool brown shade. He explained that cool colours would help make a person appear fairer and “brighter” ;)

Understanding that I needed some time to think and decide on what I wanted to do with my hair, Reno decided to give me a trim and an Intensive Hair Treatment during this first appointment. I loved how he was extremely conscientious while attending to me, I honestly felt as if he had already been my stylist for years!

This Intensive Hair Treatment that Reno gave me was a 5-step process that lasted about an hour and at the end of it, I immediately felt that my hair was softer and shinier. It’s the best for anyone wanting a solution for dry hair and I swear it visibly lasted for 2-3 weeks (or for me at least)!

Reno and I at the end of my first enjoyable experience at Hairloom!

About a month later when I was ready, I headed back to Hairloom for my “transformation”… I decided on what Reno recommended; dyeing my hair a cool brown shade and snipping a few inches off!

Reno chose an Ash Brown colour dye for me and also gave me a Hyaluronic Acid Treatment – an after-dye hair treatment for moist and shiny hair.

Before (my goodness, I didn’t know my hair was this long! Haha)

After :)

Me presenting Reno a Certificate of Excellence for great hair styling – okay I'm just kidding...

I am super happy with my current hair colour because it isn’t drastically different but at the same time, people have told me it's really perked me up. Just like Reno said, I guess I do look and feel “brighter”. Maybe even softer and more neutral as I find my hair now goes with any colour when it comes to clothes as compared to before when black used to look a little harsh.

 Thank you Reno and Hairloom!

To book an appointment, call: +65 6295 2088

Hairloom Address: 100 Beach Road #01-50/52 Shaw Towers Singapore, Singapore 189702

Click here to visit Hairloom's website or here to visit their Facebook Page.

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On another note, jien and I have a surprise giveaway + hair makeover contest (worth $500) for you. Read on for jien's post to find out how to take part!!!!

xx

sipei